


Half Alone

by Helmhammerhand



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Comedy, M/M, blatant abuse of the potato girl meme, for which i am sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-28
Updated: 2014-05-28
Packaged: 2018-01-26 21:04:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1702484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Helmhammerhand/pseuds/Helmhammerhand
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eren shook his head. "Look, I am the absolute last person to ever want to stick up for Jean. I was against you two getting together in the first place. I think he's a prick, but he's a prick who's in love with you. Both of you have been sulking for days, isn't it time for this to end?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Half Alone

If there was anything that Jean hated more than kitchen duty, it was having kitchen duty with Sasha. Two huge sacks of potatoes lay on the floor by their feet, waiting to be peeled. They sat on stools facing each other, flicking the skins into a large bucket between them. After each flick, Jean scrutinized her was a carrion bird, but she wasn't as sly as she thought she was. 'She's still wearing her satchel, she's obviously going to try to sneak away a few potatoes. I won't let her take food out of my mouth, the thief.' Jean scowled, and kept a close eye on her hands each time she reached down for a fresh potato. Then the pain hit. He looked down at his hands; blood dribbled from the tip of his middle finger. He cursed, knocking over his stool as he rushed to the cabinets and started rummaging frantically for gauze.

"Are you alright, Jean? What did you do?" Sasha gaped at him, a half peeled potato hanging limply in her hand. Her eyes widened when she saw the blood. Jean glared at her, "Everything's just peachy, Sasha. Couldn't be better." She offered him an uncomfortable grin before turning back to her potato. He glowered at her, "This is all your fault." Her face shot back up, a look of disbelief engraved on her features. "How is it my fault? You were the one holding the peeler all wrong." Jean came at her, standing right in front of her stool shouting, "Maybe if I didn't feel like I have to watch you every second so you don't steal our food, I would've been able to focus!" Sasha's face flushed red as a beet. "B-but I did-did-didn't steal anything, Jean!" "Oh yeah, what's that potato shaped lump in your bag then, huh?" Jean poked his finger at her threateningly.

"Show me." His words were full of venom. Sasha hesitated in fear, her face white as a sheet beneath Jean's death glare. She gained some composure and crossed her arms defiantly, "I don't have to show you anything, you tyrant." Jean lunged toward her bag, knocking her backwards off her stool. She caught herself from falling and took a few faltering steps backwards, trying to escape from his grasp. She lost her balance and fell backwards, hitting her head against a kitchen cabinet with a loud thud. "Owwwww!" she screeched, all of her weight tilting forward as she clutched her head in her hands. Jean was still advancing on her, making accusations. Sasha crashed into him, ramming him onto the ground. The collision caused her to fall forward, and all of her weight dropped down on top of him. Their foreheads banged together, and Jean arched his neck in pain. Their lips met, and it took him a few seconds to realize what was happening before he was shoving her off of him and wiping at his mouth, appalled. "Damnit, potato girl!" He compelled himself to stand, his head still reeling from being struck, and when he looked up he saw the entire squad standing in the kitchen doorway. Connie was failing at suppressing a giggle; Historia was covering her mouth with her hand in surprise. Eren and Mikasa were shooting daggers at him, their eyes narrow. Jean made a confused face before he saw why; Armin stood a little off to the side shaking, his fists white from being clenched. Jean met his gaze and felt his heart drop. His blue eyes were furious and filled with tears, his face twisted bitterly. Before Jean could find his voice, Armin was tearing out of the room. He raised his arm in a feeble attempt to stop the boy from leaving, but Eren's fist came crashing down on him.

"You asshole! How could you, you prick, you piece of shit!" Blows struck Jean's cheeks repeatedly, but he was too disoriented to protect himself. Typically this was when Armin or Mikasa would step in and stop him, but Jean didn't find that likely this time. "Eren, stop! Stop it!" Sasha dove at Eren, knocking him onto the floor and pinning his hands down. "It was an accident, nothing was meant by it! Stop fighting!" Eren struggled beneath her, but she managed to restrain him. Jean sat up, touching his face gingerly, already feeling his eye bruising. Mikasa was still glaring at him, "What did happen then?"

"Oh, well we-uh-we–"

"I was trying to stop her from stealing our dinner out from under us," Jean growled. "Don't worry, you can thank me later." Sasha let go of Eren's hands, and he fought his way out from under her. "A likely fucking excuse, Kirschstein." He would have come at Jean again, but Mikasa grabbed him by the shoulder, pulling him back. He glared at her for a moment, and then turned back to Jean. "You better fucking fix this, or I'll have your head on my dinner plate tonight." Jean grumbled and stood up, feeling stubborn. 'Jaeger can't tell me what to do,' the thought grated inside his skull. Then he remembered of the look on Armin's face, and he winced. Eren was right, he did have to fix this. "Go. Now. Before I kick your ass again." At any other moment, such a statement would have driven the two back to exchanging blows. Instead Jean only scowled and walked towards the door. The squad parted, letting him out into the hallway. They turned back to Sasha, who was sitting on the floor with a ridiculous, embarrassed expression on her face.

Jean guessed where he might find Armin, and walked out onto the front porch. Much of the yard lay in the shadow of a huge willow tree, it's dripping leaves swaying gently in the wind. Jean heard small whimpering sounds coming from the other side of the trunk. Walking towards the boy he was hopelessly in love with, the boy who was in tears because of him, felt like a walk of shame. His heart dragged through the dirt behind him. When he came around it, he saw Armin sitting with his back against the tree, knees pulled up and his head resting in his arms. He sniffled, "Go. Away."

"Armin, I–"

"I don't want to speak to you. I don't want to hear your voice. I don't want to look at you. I want nothing to do with you, now go. away."

Jean thought it might have been better to leave his heart back in the dirt, instead of standing beneath this willow tree feeling it shatter into pieces. He hung his head and walked back to the porch, completely miserable. He sat on the steps for a few minutes, hoping Armin would emerge, but it was clear that the blonde had meant what he said. Jean walked back inside to the boys' quarters and shut the door. It couldn't be locked, but he had a feeling no one would disturb him, or even wanted to be around him. He flung himself onto his bed and began to cry.

"Whatever you're about to say, I don't want to hear it, Eren." Armin looked at him from where he sat in the common room, clenching his jaw with frustration. Eren scoffed at him, "You can't mope forever, you know." "I can and I will do exactly as I please." Eren shook his head. "Look, I am the absolute last person to ever want to stick up for Jean. I was against you two getting together in the first place. I think he's a prick, but he's a prick who's in love with you. Both of you have been sulking for days, isn't it time for this to end?" Eren placed a hand on Armin's shoulder, and the blonde recoiled from it. "How can you expect me to forgive him? You saw exactly the same thing I did, and you want me to forgive him? How dare you." "Armin," Eren said softly, "Sasha says it was an accident, she has no reason to lie. I don't think she could lie even if she tried." Armin gave a weak smirk before frowning again. "Why? Why should I forgive him?" Armin looked into Eren's eyes imploringly. Eren sighed, "Because you love him. You know you do, we all know you do. You're both so disgustingly cute I find it physically painful. I don't like him, but I like seeing you happy. He makes you happy. I never thought I would ever, ever say this, but if there is anyone in the squad that is worthy of you, it's Jean." Armin laughed quietly. "… You must really believe that." Eren nodded, and Armin sighed to himself. "Thank you, Eren."

Armin found Jean lying on his bed, face buried in a pillow against the wall. The floor creaked under his foot. Turning, Jean said, "What do you–" Shock ran over his face, followed by fear, then resignation. He couldn't bring himself to sit up. He knew exactly what was coming, it was probably better to by lying down when Armin broke up with him. "….want?" He stared at the floor, feeling the tears prickling the edges of his eyes. He closed them, waiting. Seconds stretched out around him, then the bed dipped slightly. He peaked out hesitantly and saw Armin sitting on the edge of the bed with a look on his face Jean had never seen before. For once in his life, he couldn't think of anything to say. Being around Armin, he'd always been able to let his guard down, to be himself; but his pride wouldn't let him beg. He knew he couldn't make Armin stay if he didn't want to. Armin wrinkled his eyebrows, and Jean braced himself for the inevitable. Slowly, Armin lay down, resting his back against his chest. Jean's disbelief paralyzed him for a few moments. This was the last thing he had expected Armin to do, and his heart thumped so wildly in his chest he was sure Armin could feel it. He felt confused, terrified, and incredibly fortunate all at once. Cautiously, he reached around and laced their fingers together, squeezing tightly. The tears he'd been holding back made their way between the cracks of his shut eyes, his breath came out in small gasps. "I'm supposed to be the one crying, you know," Armin whispered. Jean laughed thankfully, feeling the tension release. "I thought I was going to lose you." Armin brought their clasped hands to his mouth, kissing each of Jean's fingertips tenderly. "You should thank Eren, he convinced me to forgive you." Jean rested his head against the boy's wheat-tinted hair, breathing in his scent. "I guess he isn't a bastard all the time." Armin turned around and punched Jean chest gently. "Okay, okay, I will thank him. I'll thank him a million times for bringing you back to me." Jean looked down into Armin's eyes, his mouth aching from grinning so wide. Armin tilted his head up, kissing the brunet softly on the mouth. Jean tangled his free hand in Armin's hair, clutching it desperately.

Outside the door, people are shouting. It sounded like Eren, "Sasha! Damnit, put that potato right back where you found it or you will be eating nothing tonight! Sasha!" "Okay, okay!…it's just one potato."

**Author's Note:**

> First Jearmin week day four, for the anon who requested Jean cheating. I couldn't have Jean cheat on purpose because it'd break my heart. Title courtesy of Kyte.


End file.
